I
am back late! I had a fantastic day. I returned to my room at L’Abbaye to find
the cleaning lady had changed out my towels and made my bed! How nice is that?
And to think this place had bad reviews on tripadvisor. It is grand for €18 a
night!
 |
| View from Hostel Room |
So
I went to Le Trouvere for dinner. I had cassoulet. Yum! I had a whole pitcher
of wine too, but was not as tipsy (see: drunk) as the other night. I think I
drank too fast the other night. I was thirsty I figured out what their [the
waiters] shirts said too. I asked Jan what “Pompiers” was because I kept seeing
it. The waiters at Le Trouvere had shirts that said “Pompiers: Service
Extinction de la Soif.” Which I think means something like, they’re firemen,
and will serve you drinks to get rid of your thirst.
I
think wine must have anti-inflammatory properties, because my knees were
hurting but not now!
And
why were my knees hurting you ask? Because I climbed not only Montségur, but also
Foix’s two towers and Roquefixade!
 |
| Montségur from the Village |
So
I got to Montségur early. I went to the bathroom in the village. The Italians
have been by. There were no toilet seats. [Hahah!] They didn’t open until 10a but I
hiked up to where they sell tickets. I sat down because it’s quite a walk even
to there. A few minutes later a German couple came by with a dog. She asked me
something in French, about it being closed. I pointed out the obvious and I
think she was annoyed by that LOL. [Annoyed that I suck at languages.] So I told her I didn’t know if you could go on
up or not. There was no sign saying it was closed. So about a minute later,
some Australians came down. They said you could go up without paying if you got
there before 10a.
We
went on up. The climb was much easier than before. The view amazing. Beautiful.
I sat up there for a while contemplating things. (Life. Death. Rebirth. [redacted] Etc. Petty stuff
really). That and admiring the scenery.
 |
| View from the Top |
 |
| Beautiful! |
 |
| A series of small walls... |
 |
| The Memorial at the bottom of the mountain |
 |
| A closer picture of the memorial |
 |
| Montségur from the Parking Lot |
On
the way back down, I stopped at the guard house and paid for a ticket. I didn’t
have to, but I want to support the site.
 |
| Ticket Office |
I
then went to the village, and looked around the museum. Didn’t see anything I
wanted to buy. I went to a trinket shop and bought two stamps. That was all she
had. I used them to mail Andy and Jan a postcard from the village. I also
bought a sticker. “OC”
Then
I went to Foix. On the way I saw a sign for another chateau, Roquefixade. I
thought I might go by there after Foix.
I
climbed both towers that are open to the public. They were having a contemporary art exhibit
in them. It was weird. The oldest tower, I think it may be Roman is not open to
the public. It’s probably empty inside, and maybe unstable. I say it’s Roman
because in the tour of Carcassonne’s towers, they said the Romans liked to use
a layer of bricks to level a wall, and that tower had the same style as the
Roman wall at Carcassonne. It’s on a hill by a River, great place to build.
 |
| Towers at Foix |
After
Foix I was starving, and they, being like the Italians and Spanish, shut down
the town in the afternoon, so there was nowhere to eat. So I went to the
McDonalds near the highway. I think V. and I must have eaten there, as it
looked familiar.
After
eating I was feeling awesome, so instead of going back to Carcassonne, I went
to Roquefixade. Amazing drive! Words certainly don’t do it justice. Pictures
neither.
I
looked at the chateau and thought it didn’t look that high. Heh. About halfway
up my knees started hurting and it was hot, with no shade. But finally there
was shade. And on the way up, I saw the Germans with the dog from this morning.
I said “bonjour” and the man said, I think, “une autre chateau” – another
fortress! His dog barked at me. It was cute.
 |
| The French don't care if you fall off the mountain |
 |
| Beautiful! |
 |
| Part of a wall |
 |
| More walls |
Then
I made it up. While I was up there, two German girls with their dog “Baloo”
came up. I had asked them if you could drive closer to the bottom [of the
fortress while down below]. Baloo reminded me of Buffy. He was running around,
about to fall off the cliff. Crazy dog. The chateau is all ruins. A few walls
left standing. I thought I could see Montségur from there. Some castle could be
seen anyway. Sorta south-east I think.
 |
| Baloo the dog |
 |
| Which chateau? |
I
made it back down in one piece. I saw Baloo had hurt his back paw tho. Poor
puppy!
I
made it back to Carcassonne fine too. I’m tired. Bed. I need to pack in the
morning. And get gas in the rental car too. Good night!
